Ephesians 5–6

5You are the children that God dearly loves. So be just like him. ²Lead a life of love, just as Christ did. He loved us. He gave himself up for us. He was a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.

³There should not be even a hint of sexual sin among you. Don’t do anything unclean. And do not always want more and more. Things like that are not what God’s holy people should do.

⁴There must not be any unclean speech or foolish talk or dirty jokes. All of them are out of place. Instead, you should give thanks.

⁵Here is what you can be sure of. Those who give themselves over to sexual sins are lost. So are people whose lives are not pure. The same is true of those who always want more and more. People who do those things might as well worship statues of gods. No one who does them will receive a share in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

⁶Don’t let anyone fool you with words that don’t mean anything. Because of things like that, God is angry with those who don’t obey. ⁷So don’t go along with people like that.

⁸At one time you were in the dark. But now you are in the light because of what the Lord has done. Live like children of the light. ⁹The light produces what is completely good, right and true. ¹⁰Find out what pleases the Lord.

¹¹Have nothing to do with the acts of darkness. They don’t produce anything good. Show what they are really like. ¹²It is shameful even to talk about what people who don’t obey do in secret.

¹³But everything the light shines on can be seen. ¹⁴Light makes everything clear. That is why it is said,

“Wake up, sleeper.

Rise from the dead.

Then Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵So be very careful how you live. Do not live like people who aren’t wise. Live like people who are wise. ¹⁶Make the most of every opportunity. The days are evil. ¹⁷So don’t be foolish. Instead, understand what the Lord wants.

¹⁸Don’t fill yourself up with wine. Getting drunk will lead to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹Speak to each other with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. ²⁰Always give thanks to God the Father for everything. Give thanks to him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²¹Follow the lead of one another because of your respect for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

²²Wives, follow the lead of your husbands as you follow the Lord. ²³The husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. The church is Christ’s body. He is its Savior. ²⁴The church follows the lead of Christ. In the same way, wives should follow the lead of their husbands in everything.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives. Love them just as Christ loved the church. He gave himself up for her. ²⁶He did it to make her holy. He made her clean by washing her with water and the word. ²⁷He did it to bring her to himself as a brightly shining church. He wants a church that has no stain or wrinkle or any other flaw. He wants a church that is holy and without blame.

²⁸In the same way, husbands should love their wives. They should love them as they love their own bodies. Any man who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹After all, people have never hated their own bodies. Instead, they feed and care for their bodies. And that is what Christ does for the church. ³⁰We are parts of his body.

³¹Scripture says, “That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. The two will become one.” ³²That is a deep mystery. But I’m talking about Christ and the church.

³³A husband also must love his wife. He must love her just as he loves himself. And a wife must respect her husband.

Children and Parents

6Children, obey your parents as believers in the Lord. Obey them because it’s the right thing to do. ²Scripture says, “Honor your father and mother.” That is the first commandment that has a promise. ³“Then things will go well with you. You will live a long time on the earth.”

⁴Fathers, don’t make your children angry. Instead, train them and teach them the ways of the Lord as you raise them.

Slaves and Masters

⁵Slaves, obey your masters here on earth. Respect them and honor them with a heart that is true. Obey them just as you would obey Christ. ⁶Don’t obey them only to please them when they are watching. Do it because you are slaves of Christ. Be sure your heart does what God wants.

⁷Serve your masters with all your heart. Work as if you were not serving people but the Lord. ⁸You know that the Lord will give you a reward. He will give to each of you in keeping with the good you do. It doesn’t matter whether you are slaves or free.

⁹Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. When you warn them, don’t be too hard on them. You know that the One who is their Master and yours is in heaven. And he treats everyone the same.

God’s Armor

¹⁰Finally, let the Lord make you strong. Depend on his mighty power. ¹¹Put on all of God’s armor. Then you can stand firm against the devil’s evil plans. ¹²Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world.

¹³So put on all of God’s armor. Evil days will come. But you will be able to stand up to anything. And after you have done everything you can, you will still be standing.

¹⁴So stand firm. Put the belt of truth around your waist. Put the armor of godliness on your chest. ¹⁵Wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good news of peace. ¹⁶Also, pick up the shield of faith. With it you can put out all of the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Put on the helmet of salvation. And take the sword of the Holy Spirit. The sword is God’s word.

¹⁸At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all of God’s people.

¹⁹Pray also for me. Pray that when I open my mouth, the right words will be given to me. Then I can be bold as I tell the mystery of the good news. ²⁰Because of the good news, I am being held by chains as the Lord’s messenger. So pray that I will be bold as I preach the good news. That’s what I should do.

Final Greetings

²¹Tychicus is a dear brother. He is faithful in serving the Lord. He will tell you everything about me. Then you will know how I am and what I am doing. ²²That’s why I am sending him to you. I want you to know how we are. And I want him to cheer you up.

²³May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give peace to the brothers and sisters. May they also give them love and faith.

²⁴May grace be given to everyone who loves our Lord Jesus Christ with a love that will never die.